Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a source of considerable disability, work absenteeism and health care costs. A major obstacle to the treatment of these conditions is the lack of methods to objectively assess connective tissues and measure the effect of treatments. Needle torque test technology under development in this project will potentially enable objective measurement of connective tissue abnormalities associated with musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. This could help evaluate the efficacy of various treatments and enhance the objective monitoring of patient progress in clinical practice.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Sampling Method:

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

community sample

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria for chronic low back pain subjects:

back pain that has disrupted activity for more than half the days in the past 12 months.

Inclusion Criteria for restricted hamstring subjects:

90/90 test of more than 20 degrees

Inclusion Criteria for systemic scleroderma subjects:

physician diagnosis

Inclusion criteria for joint hyperlaxity subjects:

Beighton test score of 7 or higher

Exclusion Criteria for all subjects:

surgery or scars in thighs or low back

neurological or major psychiatric disorder

bleeding disorders

acute systemic infection

pregnancy

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01570647